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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27900217">Wait</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/therachan/pseuds/therachan'>therachan</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Evolution of an Affair [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Midsomer Murders - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:35:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,721</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27900217</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/therachan/pseuds/therachan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Something a little different, a fic from Troy’s POV as he tries to figure out this new relationship. Tom doesn’t exactly make it easy for him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tom Barnaby/Gavin Troy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Evolution of an Affair [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927774</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/nowstfucallicles/gifts">two (nowstfucallicles)</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For nowstfucallicles who challenged me to try to write something from Gavin Troy's point of view, and was even so lovely as to pick a moment in time to go with. My friend, I hope I did our Troy justice! And thanks for your encouragement, this was... quite fun actually. :D</p><p>The prompt, from my other story "More of You", was to explore some moment between them early on that inspired the line, “It was almost as bad as some of their first times together, when Troy wanted but was unsure of how to get.” </p><p>As always comments and criticism welcome! Hope y'all enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a day of burglaries. Four different locations within several miles of each other had taken up the daylight, with barely a brief stop for lunch between them. Gavin Troy was as focused as he could be throughout the tedious procedure of their investigations, but he was really having to work to keep his eye in today. Despite his best efforts, he was distracted.
</p><p>Tom Barnaby sat in the car beside him in comfortable silence, eyes on the road as usual as if he were the one driving. Previous experience had created in him the habit of watching the road for his sergeant, but Gavin didn’t really mind. He wasn’t the type to take offense at something like that. He did take offense at some things here and there though, the result of a quick-fire temper and his constant dealings with murderers, blackmailers, thieves and cheats. He knew he could fly off the handle and make assumptions he shouldn't, but he was working on that. The calm, steady influence of his DCI was helping him see beyond the black and white categories he tended to put people in, so at worst he was a work in progress. There were a lot worse vices he could have besides being a little too passionate about his work. The rest of the time his nature had always been relatively easy and cheerful, and because of that he’d enjoyed a straightforward, fairly uncomplicated life in the big picture. 
</p><p>Until lately. 
</p><p>Gavin loosened his grip on the steering wheel after noting his white knuckles. He chanced a side glance at the man beside him, but Barnaby wasn’t looking. That was good. He’d never miss something as obvious as that.
</p><p>It’d been two weeks and three days since their last encounter. In the copy room after hours, one of the few places in the station without surveillance cameras. Gavin had gone to check to see if the machine was finished when Barnaby had wandered in with some afterthought about the case they were working on. Then, he’d shut the door. He’d slid a hand around the back of Gavin’s neck and pulled him down. Their lips met, and the copy machine’s droning, repetitive sounds became an unheard backdrop to the blood suddenly pounding in his ears. For a second, Gavin had forgotten to breathe. After a few moments the copier finished and his DCI let him go. That had been it. 
</p><p>Now, because they were necessarily in each other’s pockets practically every day, it felt like an eternity had passed since then with nothing of note. And Gavin, who could still count the number of kisses since the beginning on both hands, had no idea how to proceed. This was all still so new, it was frustrating that there were no rules yet, or none that he knew how to follow anyway. He felt like he was being presented with a chess board and a cricket bat and expected to know the game. 
</p><p>Furthermore, for someone like him, who naturally saw good and bad and right and wrong quite easily, the nebulosity of this new relationship left him feeling adrift, and sometimes quite alone in it. It was becoming a torment he hadn’t known since his angsty teenage years, when he’d spent some time or another besotted with a girl out of his reach. But this was different. Here, he couldn’t lock himself away in his room and turn his stereo up, or pour his energy into the school sports he’d loved. He couldn’t get the distance to breathe and try to order his thoughts into any kind of way that would give him some defense. 
</p><p>He shared an office, a car and a job with this man. He shared his meals, his ideas and his trust. It was an intimacy Gavin had never known with anyone before. And he knew it was essential that he did so for the sake of their job, without reserve. It was his duty, and he took it very seriously. Solving their cases could very much mean life or death for someone; that had to be the whole goal. The chief goal. 
</p><p>It was <i>not</i> the goal to pine away like a randy teenager, waiting on the next touch, the next little hint. The next eye contact that lingered a little too long past professional friendliness. <i>That</i> was the distraction.
</p><p>And yet, the most frustrating part was that while he waited for these things in distracted anticipation, it was also with equal apprehension. 
</p><p>The sun was beginning to set into a beautifully cold evening amid winter’s last breath. Gavin looked up at the sky and idly wondered where the day had gone, and felt sorry they didn’t have more to show for it. He supposed he should be thankful they weren’t chasing worse than some petty thieves at the moment. He should be even more glad that because of that, their work day was over and they were headed home. 
</p><p>He glanced at his DCI out of the corner of his eye again. Barnaby had already gotten two phone calls from his wife and daughter asking when he thought he might be home. Dinner was going to be waiting, and Cully had a new boyfriend she was bringing around for him to meet. He had plans this evening. Gavin sighed.
</p><p>“Hm?” Barnaby said, looking over at him.
</p><p>“Oh. Nothing, Sir,” he said. <i>Can we park off this lane and have a snog?</i> his brain groused. <i>It won’t take but a few minutes.</i> 
</p><p>
 
It was the sort of thing he might say to a girl he’d gotten this far with, if she had a sense of humor. But the apprehension had kicked in, the part about this he hated most. He hated being afraid of anything, and to be afraid of <i>this</i> of all things, the thing <i>he</i> had started, was ludicrous. 
</p><p>
He kept his mouth shut and sighed again. Quietly.
</p><p>
In trying to justify it, he told himself there was apprehension because he’d been denied the rare couple of times he’d reached out. And while Gavin knew there was always a good reason for it, the rejection had still left him a little stunned. Embarrassed. It wasn’t even that Barnaby was harsh about it; indeed, he was actually quite gentle in the way he’d just minutely shake his head, eyes kind and understanding. It just still stung a bit to feel like he’d had his hand slapped away. It had bruised his ego, and he was still nursing it.
</p><p>
But he knew that wasn’t the whole truth. He knew that despite the pining, despite his passion-fueled and rash actions that had started all of this, the reality was that he felt nervous and lost. In over his head and out of his league. Gavin didn’t like these feelings. He didn’t like not knowing what to do. 
</p><p>
But it wasn’t in his nature to wallow in self-pity either. Instead he’d tried to rationalize it in other ways- like wondering if maybe he really wasn’t <i>meant</i> to start anything. Maybe Barnaby would rather it all be left up to him, to mirror Gavin’s habitual and necessary deferment to him in their working relationship. Maybe that was where Gavin ought to feel more comfortable as well? 
</p><p>
But in the end that didn’t feel right either. 
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>He sighed again. Even after their discussion in that old hangar, when he had been so sure of everything- enough to make such a gaff as kissing his DCI- how could he still be left with so much doubt now? 
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>There was one bit of relief, however; he wasn’t wasting energy being doubtful about himself anymore. He no longer questioned this relatively rapid spin off his life’s normal axis into the unknown. He trusted his own instincts now, as far as the attraction part went anyway, having fought it long enough before this had all started, long before they’d found themselves in that filthy place on that rainy day. He’d finally come to terms with it when he’d decided to think about it very plainly: his body roused at the thought of the man beside him, that was the simple chemistry. And because there was no one in the world he admired more, it made sense to him to have chosen Tom Barnaby. He certainly wasn’t attracted to anyone else, though there were younger and better-looking men and women around. No. It was wholly centered on the man beside him, the complete object of his affection. And… lust.
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Troy.” Barnaby’s voice broke in on his thoughts.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Sir?”
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Would you mind going around him? I can approve of your speed at last, but now proximity is the problem.” He gestured to the large tractor-trailer in front of them. Gavin realized he’d been following the very slow-moving truck far too closely and that other cars were zooming past them. 
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Yes. Sorry.” He felt Barnaby watching him as he maneuvered around. Gavin kept his eyes on the road and waited for him to say something else, but his DCI just settled back in his seat again.
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>He tapped his thumbs on the wheel, trying to make himself relax. He thought again about saying something to Barnaby, trying to open that door, but he couldn’t even bring himself to open his own mouth. 
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The truth was, there really was no knowing what his DCI felt, and that was a huge part of the problem. Barnaby went on very much the same as before, unbothered and staid. Jovial and friendly. Professional. Since their first encounter at the airfield, his mind had been completely closed on the matter to Gavin, whether or not he’d meant to come across that way. They just didn’t talk about it. And the longer this went on the more anxious Gavin was starting to feel, and he knew it was clouding his judgement. Distracting him.
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>It was affecting his sleep too, though that part was less cerebral. He lay awake late at night, alone with his thoughts in his small flat, getting worked up just thinking about what <i>could</i> happen if he could just get past his own intimidation and Barnaby’s reserve. In those moments when his body just <i>ached<i>, there was no denying it. He’d be so hard that he knew he’d never get any sleep until he’d slipped a hand down to relieve the pressure. The images in his mind were still so underdeveloped as yet to only consist of replaying the few encounters they’d shared so far, but they were enough to get him there. He’d close his eyes and imagine how it had felt to kiss Barnaby, to feel his strong lips, so very different from a woman. To put his arms around those broad shoulders and feel those arms come around him. To smell his cologne, and rub his cheek against the roughness of that jaw at the end of the day. 
</i></i></i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <i>It made Gavin’s heart pound and his toes curl when he thought of the unknown past these encounters. It terrified him too. But the draw was too much to run from. And besides, he wasn’t a runner.
</i>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <i>“Troy.” 
</i>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <i>Barnaby’s voice again startled him back to the present. It was a semi-tone less civil than it had been before.
</i>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <i>“Sir?”
</i>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>
      <i>“<i>Where</i> are you going?”
</i>
    </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Gavin blinked. He’d sank into his thoughts again so much along the featureless highway that he’d missed the exit to his flat. This was Barnaby’s car; he’d come to get Gavin this morning and necessarily needed to take him back there before heading home.
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Damn,” Gavin muttered, slowing so he could turn around. He could feel Barnaby watching him again.
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Are you all right?” his DCI asked.
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Fine, Sir. Just… tired. Lots of driving today.”
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Mmm,” Barnaby agreed. “And only two near-misses to keep you awake all day.”
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“All right,” Gavin conceded, glancing at the little smile on Barnaby’s lips and catching that blue gaze before it was turned away. 
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Wait. Was that…? 
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Deep in his soul Gavin Troy was a man in every sense, and a red-blooded opportunist. A hint, a mere whiff of suggestion and he could feel himself latch on like a bloodhound. It had been bad enough with a pretty girl around. With Barnaby, it was positively animalian. 
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Within a few minutes they had pulled into the drive of a row of flats at the end of a quiet street. They got out, ostensibly for Barnaby to get into the driver’s seat, but the DCI stayed on his side of the car and looked up at Gavin’s building. 
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Is that a different color?” he asked musingly, his hands in the pockets of his overcoat, more so in casual repose than against the chill, which never seemed to bother him.
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Eh, yes. They came and painted last weekend.” Gavin said. 
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Barnaby turned his head a looked at him. “Did they just do the exterior or did you get a nice refresh inside?”
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“They did do the landing,” Gavin answered, “but it’s the same color.”
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Barnaby was still holding his gaze across the hood of the car. Gavin fought with himself, trying to choose between the courage and the fear. In a moment his DCI may very well turn and get in the car to go home. Or worse, his cursed mobile might ring to remind him that there were others who needed his attention. But right now, he was here. Waiting. Blue eyes watching Gavin with their usual measure of patience and knowingness.
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Gavin set his mouth in a hard line of decision. Sod it. It had been a bloody long day but it was over. They were here together and there was his flat, empty and private. He girded his courage and cleared his throat. 
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“You wouldn’t want to come see, would you?” Gavin asked.
</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Barnaby glanced at his watch. “Why not,” he said with an easy smile.</i>
  </i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Do you want a drink, Sir?” Gavin said a little unevenly, watching Barnaby settle on the sofa. His heart had begun pounding when he saw his DCI take off his overcoat and come all the way in, patently ignoring the newly painted landing. 
</p><p>“Better not,” Barnaby answered with a little shake of his head. His manner was even easier now with the closed and locked door behind them and the distractions gone from his plate. He patiently watched Gavin move about the small room as he hastily picked up some of the bachelor pad mess, self-consciously shoving it out of sight.
</p><p>“Troy,” Barnaby said quietly after a few minutes of this. “Stop milling about. We don’t have all the time in the world, you know.”
</p><p>Gavin sheepishly put down the stack of magazines and papers in his hands, took a deep breath, and sat down next to him. He hoped he’d achieved the correct distance- not too close and not too far as to be awkward. He could feel the blood beating in his temples, the warmth spiking in his core at their proximity. He’d never felt <i>this</i> alone with Barnaby really since this whole thing started, not with this kind of promise on the wind. It felt different. This wasn’t the copy room and he wasn’t going to be taken by surprise this time. And while he knew they didn’t have ‘all the time in the world’, he knew at least they had time for more than a kiss. 
</p><p>Gavin held that blue gaze, told himself to relax. This was, after all, what he’d wanted. He wasn’t some nervous teenage girl on prom night, he was a grown man.
</p><p>So when Barnaby leaned in, Gavin opened his mouth to the kiss, fortified enough to bypass the usual first few light test kisses. Barnaby easily moved past these as well without missing a beat. His mouth was warm and inviting, and still tasted a bit of the coffee he’d been finishing in the car. He was a rather strong kisser, and took the lead effortlessly as Gavin brought his hands up and touched his face, the roughness of his five o’clock shadow scraping the pads of his fingers. These lovely, deep kisses continued as Barnaby rested one hand on Gavin’s leg and began slowly running it up and down from his hip almost to his knee, avoiding moving it any further inland. After a few moments the other hand came up and with one finger he loosened his sergeant’s tie. 
</p><p>Gavin drew back a little, taking a quick breath. He brought his hands down to Barnaby’s chest and could feel the heat coming through the shirt from the solid surface underneath. It was still jarring to think he could touch his DCI in this way. How he really could just reach up and pull his tie loose too, and push open the collar at his throat.
</p><p>“All right?” Barnaby asked, a little breathily.
</p><p>Gavin nodded and leaned in again, kissing him a little more insistently to prove it. He slid his hands further under Barnaby’s suit jacket, felt the heat trapped there as well, and found that when he was quite still he could even feel the muffled beat of his heart. The body he’d never seen felt fairly unyielding underneath the clothes, with the kind of solid strength that comes with age and maturity. 
</p><p>At his sergeant’s show of resolve Barnaby pressed him back against the sofa, his kisses becoming deeper and more passionate. With one hand he undid the buttons of Gavin’s shirt and pushed the loose tie out of the way. His hand then crept underneath, the palm hot as it glided over the planes of his chest, fingers lightly brushing Gavin’s nipple.
</p><p>Gavin let a moan escape at this, half in pleasure, half in surprise. That hand that had been down on his leg traveled up onto his inner thigh. 
</p><p>Then, it brushed him. 
</p><p>His cock was hard, had been since he’d sat down, and it was uncomfortable against the constraints of his clothing. He sucked in his breath at the touch, which was just the lightest of things- could have merely been a little test, a ranging shot- but Barnaby had never touched him like that before.
</p><p>During this little move, Barnaby had let his sergeant’s mouth go and moved to his neck, kissing his way down, his breath hot on Gavin’s flesh. The hand on his leg moved up again and finally over the mound of his hard cock with decision, pressing in, beginning a slow stroke back and forth over the fabric. 
</p><p>“Sir-“ Gavin whispered, hands grasping Barnaby’s shirt, his own meager explorations forgotten for the moment. His DCI looked up a little from where he’d been sucking at the base of his throat.
</p><p>“Tell me if we need to stop, Troy,” Barnaby said against his skin in that deep, gravelly voice. 
</p><p>“No,” Gavin huffed, “it’s okay.” 
</p><p>Barnaby continued to rub his cock through his trousers, the pressure of his palm tracing its outline back and forth. Gavin had wrapped an arm around his neck as Barnaby kissed down his neck and chest again, pushing the shirt off his shoulder to kiss him there too. The other hand still roamed over his chest and belly, grazing his nipples every now and then, and Gavin felt himself beginning to lose it amid all the sensitive points of his body that Barnaby was triggering at once. 
</p><p>Then he heard the clink of his belt, and his eyes opened to see the ceiling. 
</p><p>Barnaby had sat up a bit to better see what he was doing, distractedly pushing the rest of Gavin’s shirt out of the way and exposing his chest and belly to the cool air. Here, he stopped and just looked down at his sergeant’s body in that wondering, appreciative way he had. Their eyes met again and Gavin saw that Barnaby had not missed the sudden tension in his body at the new move. It couldn’t have been an easy thing for him to stop, since at the moment Barnaby wasn’t exactly the picture of calm reserve he normally was. His hair was mussed, his shirt open and tie askew, and his lips swollen from their kisses. 
</p><p>Gavin knew he probably looked worse, though, and was glad to have a moment to collect himself. He wasn’t really afraid of going any further, that wasn’t it. He just… needed a second. 
</p><p>Barnaby watched his sergeant catch his breath. After a few moments, he tilted his head just slightly, and Gavin knew he was being asked a question. After a few more seconds, he gave the slightest of nods. Barnaby pointedly held his eyes as he reached down and got the fastening to his trousers undone. Then, he slowly slipped his hand underneath, and touched bare skin. 
</p><p>Gavin took another sharp intake of breath in anticipation, but Barnaby didn’t pull him out right away. He simply gave a few strokes under his clothes at first, still watching his sergeant’s face carefully. When whatever he saw there satisfied him, his fingers closed in and he pulled Gavin’s cock out, freeing it from its confines. 
</p><p>“Very nice,” he murmured and Gavin felt his face go hot. Barnaby began to stroke him with firm, expert pressure. Like everything, it was different, so very different from every female lover he’d had before. His hand was bigger, stronger, and rougher. He knew exactly where to hold, the right angle, and where to press. All the benefits of a lover who knew the male body better than any woman ever really could.
</p><p>This. This was Tom Barnaby jerking him off. His own boss, his mentor. And if Gavin didn’t stop him, Tom Barnaby was going to make him come. Somehow, they had made it to this outrageous place where things like this could happen. 
</p><p>Between the man’s lips on his neck and the hand on his cock there wasn’t much room for thought besides this small, fleeting wonder. Biting out another groan Gavin pulled Barnaby down by his shirt, wanting to kiss him while he stroked his cock, wanting to be nearer. His DCI obliged without breaking his rhythm, leaning in against him again with sweet, insistent pressure.
</p><p>Amid the tendrils of pleasure, Gavin reached out and ran his hand down Barnaby’s belly to the hardness between his legs, brushing the taut fabric as his DCI had done to him. He felt the thrill to touch that secret part of him, forbidden for so many reasons. To touch it, even with the barrier of clothing, to feel the change in Barnaby’s body in response, and hear the quick intake of his breath… and then to know he was the one who had done it… <i>That</i> almost felt like enough to make him come right then.
</p><p>Responding to him, Barnaby increased in tempo on his cock until he had found the perfect rhythm to lead up into the crescendo. Gavin rubbed Barnaby’s cock again hard, over and over, squeezed it, heard the groan in response, and felt the swell of orgasm coming on him like a tidal wave. 
</p><p>“Sir-” Gavin whisper hoarsely, “Uhnn… I’m going to…” he bit out between panting breaths. 
</p><p>“Come, Troy?” Barnaby rumbled against his ear.
</p><p>“Yes! Oh God, yes-“ Gavin cried as he came, hips lifting despite Barnaby’s weight. The hot come splashed up his bare belly and ran down over his DCI’s hand as he slowly stroked his sergeant through the shockwaves. It felt like it lasted so long, reverberating down his body like an echo until Gavin collapsed back against the sofa cushions, his body still singing, his head blessedly empty for the moment.
</p><p>Barnaby looked down at the mess, raising his eyebrows. Coming back to himself Gavin looked down as well, then back at Barnaby. They exchanged a flustered smile. 
</p><p>“Well, well, Sergeant,” his DCI said with a little smile. His calm, easy teasing was belying his appearance, however. In addition to his disheveled look, his breathing was up and his upper chest and neck were darkly flushed. Gavin’s eyes darted down to his cock, still hard and pressed against his leg, visibly pushing against its confines. Should he-?
</p><p>But the seconds had passed and now Barnaby was moving to get up. He went into the kitchen and his sergeant heard the tap running as he washed his hands. From there Gavin also heard the ring of his mobile and Barnaby’s voice answering it. In a few minutes he came back in to the living room. He’d already straightened his jacket, shirt, and tie.
</p><p>“Dinner’s almost ready,” he said with a bit of a face. “I’d better get going.”
</p><p>Gavin hadn’t really moved besides to try to use his shirt to wipe up the worst of the mess and to tuck himself away in an attempt at decency. He felt shattered, as if he’d been shagged within an inch of his life, and yet it had been such a simple thing.
</p><p>“Have you met this one yet? Cully’s new bloke?” he asked softly. 
</p><p>“Not this one, no. She’s brought him around twice already but I’ve managed to miss both dinners. I’m under threat of death if I don’t show up this time.”
</p><p>Gavin was watching him, again catching the profile of his still-hard cock through his trousers as he moved about. How could he ignore it so easily? Even spent, Troy couldn’t take his eyes off of it. Did Barnaby not want…? Did he not need…? Was it really so easy to get up and go like that?
</p><p>But when he finally made a move to get up, his DCI waved him down again. 
</p><p>“Relax, it’s all right,” Barnaby said with a little smile. “You look done in. I’ll let myself out, yeah?” 
</p><p>“Sir,” he answered, perplexedly watching Barnaby take his coat and disappear down the hall. 
</p><p>A couple of seconds passed. 
</p><p>“Wait,” Gavin called, heaving himself up. He held up his trousers up with one hand and jogged to catch him at the door he was just reaching to open. Barnaby turned, almost expectantly.
</p><p>“Can’t I help you?” Gavin stammered, “With that?” He pointed at Barnaby’s cock, vaguely wondering if that was rude or not. But there were no rules of etiquette in this. He was realizing that his DCI was leading him in this as in all things, as he always had, instead of pushing from behind. He was realizing that if he wanted something he was really going to have to speak up. And though Gavin knew he might be turned down at times, he felt certain it would always be for a good reason, and that he had to trust Barnaby’s instincts on this. It wasn’t going to be easy, but his ego could take that if this was on the table as the eventual reward for his patience.
</p><p>Barnaby held his gaze for a moment, then he glanced at his watch again. Not impatiently, just his usual information gathering. 
</p><p>“If you’re sure, Troy,” he said in that deep voice, the one that sent chills down Gavin’s spine in his late-night visions. There was a lot about Barnaby’s voice he’d always liked, but now it carried so much more with it. “I wasn’t sure if you’d had enough for one day.”
</p><p>“I’ll tell you when I have,” Gavin said, meaning it. He reached out for Barnaby’s wrist to pull him back to the living room.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Barnaby settled back on the sofa where they’d been and pulled his sergeant down close beside him. With a sated body and calmer mind than before, Gavin now had to quell his nerves as he reached down and rubbed over the mound of Barnaby’s cock again, preparing himself for this, getting a real feel for it. The man beneath him moaned and nuzzled his neck. Gavin closed his eyes and leaned into him but tried not to get lost in the distraction. Steeling himself for the next step, Gavin pressed his hand down more, rubbing Barnaby’s cock though the cloth until the DCI had to pull away from his mouth with a deeper groan, and his hips had started to shift a little.
</p><p>He knew then that it was time. Gavin reached for the fastening of Barnaby’s belt and trousers, the motion smooth and confident even though it felt like the opposite in his mind. He reached in past the cloth, closed his hand around the hard cock, and pulled it out. Against his lips Barnaby breathed a little sigh, his hand stroking up and down his sergeant’s bare back under his shirt.
</p><p>Gavin couldn’t help breaking their kiss to see it. Beneath the patch of private hair, it was a good-sized cock, well-formed and hard as a rock. The head was a deep reddish purple and a small drop of pre-come was just beginning to ooze from the small slit. It fit perfectly in his hand, felt almost… natural. And yet it was also so strange to hold it, something so familiar and yet not his own, and to get no feedback when he began to stroke it up and down. Except for Barnaby moaning his name deep in his throat.
</p><p>It was a heady sound; it made his confidence grow. Gavin leaned in and kissed Barnaby again, his free hand finally getting under that shirt and roaming over the hot flesh of his broad chest. He found the nipples, squeezed them a little, and was rewarded with another groan. His own cock twitched again at the sound. Barnaby’s arm on his back pulled him down closer and Gavin moved his lips down to his neck and throat, pulling the collar of his shirt open even more. He increased the pace on the cock in his hand, getting the hang of the motion quite easily, and knew by Barnaby’s reaction that he was spot on. 
</p><p>It was actually quite lovely to be somewhat clear headed enough to appreciate the view beneath him. He allowed himself a little smile as he watched Barnaby lean back against the sofa in utter openness under his hands, holding nothing back of what he was feeling. There could be absolutely no doubting it. Seeing this, Gavin suddenly felt like Barnaby had shown his hand at last. He’d given himself over. And then he couldn’t help but feel this was an important point they’d passed. He couldn’t help but feel that now, if he really wanted it, there was very little he couldn’t do if he had the courage to try it. 
</p><p>Buoyed by this knowledge, Gavin felt with a jolt the need to give this pleasure to Barnaby, to show him he was equal to the task, in case his DCI had ever doubted him. He redoubled his efforts and let his distraction go, leaning down and taking Barnaby’s mouth insistently. He played with his nipples so that he could hear that groan again. He continued his now-rapid strokes, listened to the rhythmic sounds they made in the quiet room and to Barnaby’s heavy breathing. His hips begin to lift. He was getting close.
</p><p>“Troy,” Barnaby huffed. “Do you have anything? A towel? I can’t go home with a ruined suit-“
</p><p>“Oh! Yes-“ Troy said quickly, looking around but seeing nothing within reach to use. He looked back at his hand, his mind going blank on what to do next. 
</p><p>Barnaby’s hand covered his own over his cock. “You can let me go,” he whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.”
</p><p>“Sorry-” Gavin said, releasing him and jumping up to grab a tea towel from the kitchen. He came back and handed it to his DCI, who arranged it well enough to protect his clothes.
</p><p>“Sorry,” Gavin said again, feeling awkward taking up his cock again. 
</p><p>Barnaby’s hand came up the back of his neck and pulled him down. “Don’t be sorry,” he said, his breath hitching. “It’s just longer for me to enjoy this.”
</p><p>Gavin felt the energy building in him quickly once he’d resumed the tempo that had seemed to be getting him there before. His own cock was pressed against his thigh but he was ignoring it, far too distracted watching Barnaby as he came closer and closer to orgasm.
</p><p>It didn’t take long like this. Barnaby leaned his head back and Gavin saw the flash of his teeth as he panted through his open mouth. “Troy-” he hissed, and it was his only warning. Gavin watched in heated wonder as Tom Barnaby came in his hand, biting out a loud groan, his hand gripping Gavin’s leg almost to the point of pain. The hot come burst out and down and slickened his grip, but he continued his strokes for several moments until the aftershocks had faded and Barnaby finally relaxed down with a heaved sigh. 
</p><p>“Good idea on the towel, Sir,” Gavin said softly after a few minutes had passed and Barnaby had started to sit up and clean himself off. “Wish I’d thought of it.”
</p><p>His DCI smiled at him and handed the towel over. “Well, at least you’re home at your leisure here,” he said, his voice a little hoarse. “I’ve got people at mine and no chance for a shower any time soon. I’m late enough as it is,” he chuckled. 
</p><p>He put himself back together quickly and efficiently, then stood up to straighten his clothes for the second time. Gavin remained where he was, watching him and wondering why he was suddenly feeling a little sullen.
</p><p>Dressed properly again except for his coat, Barnaby sat down next to him. 
</p><p>“That… was lovely,” he said softly.
</p><p>Gavin felt a smile tug at his lips to match Barnaby’s. “Yeah,” he said, “It was.” 
</p><p>Barnaby stood up again. “Be a good host and see me out?” he said, reaching to help him up. 
</p><p>“At least I know I’ll sleep well tonight,” Gavin said on the landing, helping his DCI into his overcoat with one hand. The other was still holding up his trousers.
</p><p>Barnaby opened the door. “Me too,” he said with a little smile. Then, “Good night, Troy. See you tomorrow.”
</p><p>Watching him jog down the steps, Gavin leaned against the doorframe, making sure to stay out of sight of anyone who might be in the quiet street. Barnaby waved before getting into the car and Gavin lifted his chin back, the smile still lingering, the sullenness gone.
</p><p>“Night, Sir,” he said.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading!! Please let me know what you thought!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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